


The day the Criminals won

by Susspencer



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-22
Updated: 2016-08-22
Packaged: 2018-08-10 07:56:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7836538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Susspencer/pseuds/Susspencer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Peter Lewis is caught, the team gets a weekend off.  Monday morning comes, but Hotch isn't there.  Where is Hotch?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The day the Criminals won

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DarkJediQueen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkJediQueen/gifts), [Rivermoon1970](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rivermoon1970/gifts).
  * In response to a prompt by [DarkJediQueen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkJediQueen/pseuds/DarkJediQueen) in the [profilers_anon](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/profilers_anon) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> GIVE US YOUR ANGST!
> 
> Anything goes with this. Short or slightly longer, give us the unhappy endings you never dare to write!  
> IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT! Rivermoon1970 and DarkJediQueen

There had been one thing the BAU could always count on. At least it seemed that way to the members, Aaron Hotchner would always be there to lead them. They had finished catching Peter Lewis last week. A dozen more killers to go. The weekend off to recover. It had been a rough two and half weeks to get Lewis and he had messed with their minds during that time. Aaron as much as the rest of the team was looking forward to momentary, yet not complete rest. Sunday night, he had dropped Jack back with Jessica, that he could enjoy a night to himself and not have to worry about getting Jack to school on Monday.

Monday, there would be leads to the next killer to chase. The team would be ready to go. Garcia would have the information together just after everyone got in. It would be a typical day. Aaron in first, working on reports, and looking at what information had come in. Garcia and Dave would be next, followed by Reid, and JJ,Lewis and Luke. As soon as all the new information was assembled, they would be off after the next one or two. It was going to be grueling until they got them all recaptured. Hopefully, maybe some local departments or FBI fugitive units would be able to apprehend a few. Not that the BAU couldn’t do it, there were just new cases that were going to have to wait, while they got this done. Everyone got in Monday and got to work. As time passed and there was no call to the conference room, they started to wonder. Garcia knocked on Hotch’s door. No answer. Had no one stopped by to say hi! In the morning?

“Rossi?” Garcia asked, standing by his open door. “Have you seen Hotch?”

“Thought he was in his office. Isn’t he?”

“I knocked no answer,” She replied.

Dave went over and opened the door. The light was off and no Hotch. He leaned over the rail and shouted, “Has anyone seen Hotch today?” After receiving a course of nos from the team, Dave pulled out his phone and called Hotch. It of course went straight to voicemail. Keeping his demeanor, Rossi sent the team into the conference room to start going over what new information they had. He stepped out and called Jessica. Finding out that Jack had spent the night, Rossi grabbed Anderson and headed over to Hotch’s. 

There was a terrible sinking feeling in Dave’s gut that he wasn’t going to like what he found. Although all indications were that none of the criminals were in the Virginia area, the possibility was lurking in the back of the BAU’s mind. _I really hope that when we get there his car is gone, the door is locked, and there is no sign of foul play. This is one time that I hope he went out, got lucky and went home with some woman. My God Aaron, please be okay. I can’t lose another friend._ The more Rossi was getting lost in his thoughts, the more his mind was running away with him. At the red light, before Hotch’s apartment building he took a deep breath to stop himself from tearing up. Anderson was looking around trying to see anything odd or out of place. He spotted Hotch’s car in its usual parking place. Both their stomachs sank. 

Parking quickly, on the side of the building and turning on his official lights, Rossi hopped out and ran up to the apartment. He knocked at the door, no answer. He hollered, “Aaron! Hotch! Are you in there?” Checking the door, it was unlocked. Swallowing hard, he pulled out his weapon, waited for Anderson to do the same. Kicked the door open with his foot, and proceeded in, slowly they cleared the living room, dining room, kitchen, and headed down the hall. Nothing was out of place so far and everything looked peaceful. They opened closet doors, cleared the bathroom, Jack’s room, stopping and staring at the master bedroom door. It wasn’t that Rossi was frozen, it was that he and Anderson knew opening this door was the last, no final, place they had to look. Aaron Hotchner was probably laying in this room or one of twelve serial killers had him, either of which was too hard to believe. 

Rossi reached down to the door handle, turned it, and opened. 

Stepping inside the room was in shambles. The bed was in complete disarray. Anderson moved towards the bathroom. Rossi moved towards the window. The closet was open as if someone had gone to it looking for something. Rossi looked on the floor by the window, where the duvet, sheets and pillows from the bed were. Anderson opened the bathroom door, he let out a gasp, a bit of a cry and hurried from the room. Dave knew. His eyes filled with water, but he had a job to do. Putting his gun in his holster, he walked over to the bathroom, not wanting this responsibility but not wishing it on anyone else either. Closing his eyes for a moment, saying a hail Mary, then looking to see his long time friend in the bathtub fully dressed in one of his suits. 

Rossi called for CSI, sent Hotch off to the ME’s office, and had the team out to look over everything. He went to talk to Jessica, told Jack, and of course called Sean. Back at the BAU with the pictures on the board, ME reports in hand, thoughts and discussion back and forth, Reid noticed people getting testy and tired. He knew when they were on a case and it got this way Hotch always made them go eat. “Hey, let’s go get a bite to eat. We are all getting a bit grumpy, low blood sugars,” Spencer suggested. 

_Gee! Chinese! I am sure Hotch is laughing at me. He probably put the idea in their heads when I suggested eating. I still can’t use the damn chopsticks after all these years. But, hey Hotch, I am not afraid to ask for the fork, up front any more._ Spencer smiled to himself about his thoughts. The dinner conversation was sparse, and centered around memories of Hotch. When they finished no one wanted to go home, so back to the office they went to look at the case. 

“Ok, let’s go over it all again,” Tara says. “He was found in the bathtub in his suit, as though he was dressed for work. The bedroom looked like there had been a struggle in the bed, knocking all the bedding towards the window. Someone had been in the closet looking for something. The rest of the apartment was normal, tidy and neat.” 

Reid continued, “ME report nothing in the tox screen. Cause of death stab to the heart with a knife. Knife was found under his suit, still in his chest, thus accounting for lack of blood at crime scene. Best that could be determined time of death Monday am between 2 and 5. The lack of defensive wounds either indicate that he was asleep or didn’t resist.”

Garcia had searched the 12 remaining killers none of them had a similar M.O. or signature.

“No fingerprints, no dna, no hairs, nothing. No notes,” Sighed JJ.

Luke stated, “no other information available as to what occurred. Only clue left, in red on bathroom mirror, 1/7 to 1/13.”

Just then Cruz came in, there was a new lead in Texas on two of the killers. They were off to El Paso to pursue them, just like that. 

JJ sat on the plane remembering Peter Lewis’ words when she and Derek had arrested him, _“I win.”_


End file.
